Why's our dog suddenly not housebroken?

What to do when your housebroken dog is suddenly forgetting his training.

Our two-year-old dog has been housebroken since he was six months old. This summer we had an in-ground pool installed, and ever since then he's been having peeing accidents in the house. Our vet said he's healthy, and we know he's not stressed because of the pool, due to the fact that we can barely keep him out of it. What do you think is causing this housebreaking regression?

I think what's causing his regression is that Olympic-size water bowl you've installed in your backyard. When dogs go swimming they, like their human counterparts, ingest varying quantities of water. Unlike their human counterparts, some of them also use the pool to quench their thirst, which is not only unhealthy, but when done recreationally meaning there is no real need to drink, they just enjoy the game can cause an increase in "output." Also, unlike their human counterparts, dogs never relieve themselves in the pool, but will sometimes choose your house. Limiting your dog's access to swimming will definitely decrease the accidents, but also be aware that in doing this, you may be decreasing his daily exercise. If you don't give him another outlet, such as taking him on a long walk or playing a rousing game of fetch, he'll develop new behavior patterns to satisfy his urge for exercise and they'll be canine ideas of a good time. Monitor his whereabouts in the house, and clean up old accident areas with a stain and odor eliminator so that he won't be attracted back to the spots. It's equally important to take him outside frequently to give him plenty of chances to go to the bathroom in the proper place. As always, helping him to be right is much more effective than correcting him for being wrong.